New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- For nearly three decades, Sashidhar Jagdishan was the quintessential HDFC Bank insider, rising from a finance manager in 1996 to succeed Aditya Puri as CEO in 2020. Now, as he prepares to retire on 26 October after deciding against a third term, Jagdishan's exit is forcing India's largest private lender to confront both its immediate leadership challenge and a deeper question. Does it have enough bench strength for the next era of banking?

Jagdishan's six-year tenure included the landmark HDFC-HDFC Bank merger, completed in 2023, but the promised benefits have taken longer to emerge. Margins and returns remain under pressure, the bank's shares have fallen more than 28% this year, and investors continue to wait for t...